Archives for the Tag: car features

Cars are expensive. And these days, there are about a million trendy features and add-ons you could pay for in your new car, but probably don’t need to. Many of these features aren’t really that useful (yet). Find out what they are and why.

1.Self-Parking:

What is it:

Self-parking is when a vehicle autonomously maneuvers from a traffic lane into a parking spot to perform perpendicular, angle or parallel parking. Self-parking systems are designed to enhance the parking experience while making drivers feel safer in constrained environments where attention is everything.

Why it’s not useful (yet):

We are all for cars doing things so we don’t have to. But current automatic systems are essentially useless unless you’re trying to park in a very large parking spot. Currently the average driver would be able to park any of the cars with self-parking systems better than their vehicle can, though that could change in the future.

What vehicles feature it:

Auto self-parking was introduced in the U.S. on the 2007 Lexus LS Sedan. Now auto-parking is mainly found on luxury vehicles like the Toyota Prius V option and the Ford Focus Titanium.

Bosch has plans to release a fully automated parking system later this year. We’ll see how that goes.

2.Adaptive Cruise Control

What is it:

Installed behind the grille of a car, adaptive cruise control uses forward-looking radar to find the speed and distance of a vehicle ahead. Like cruise control, ACC maintains the vehicle’s pre-set speed but the system is designed to adjust speed in order to maintain a proper distance away from vehicles driving in the same lane.

Why it’s not useful (yet):

Adaptive cruise control is really only useful in stop-and-go traffic like rush hour commutes that can go from 60 mph to a standstill. If this isn’t something you deal with on a daily bases, or mind, you don’t really need it yet. ACC is being enhanced to include collision warning capabilities that will alert drivers through visual or audio signals that a collision is about to take place and braking or steering is needed.

Also, to get full-range adaptive cruise control, expect to pay on average $2,000 to $2,500 extra.